Young Americans Choose to Delay, Not Have Children
2022-09-08
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1Many young Americans are not seeking to have children of their own as birth rates in the United States remain near historically low levels.
2A group of women who spoke with the Associated Press listed climate change, student debt and inflation as reasons they do not want to be parents.
3Some young men said they also do not want to raise children.
4Some are considering medical operations that prevent fertility.
5A government report found the U.S. birth rate fell four percent in 2020.
6That was the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years.
7The government reported a one percent increase in U.S. births last year.
8But the number of babies born was still lower than before the coronavirus pandemic - about 86,000 fewer than in 2019.
9Jordan Davidson talked with more than 300 people for a book to be released in December.
10The book is called So When Are You Having Kids?
11She spoke to young people of both the Millennial generation and Generation Z.
12 Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996 while Generation Z is just starting to reach adulthood.
13The pandemic, Davidson said, led many young people to put off having children.
14Others say they do not want to have children at all.
15She said many young people are not willing to change their plans or goals for children.
16She added, "People still want to travel. They still want to go to graduate school. They want to meet certain financial benchmarks."
17Davidson said fears about climate change have influenced many to consider the idea of living without children.
18She said, "Now with increased wildfires, droughts, heat waves...what is this going to look like during the time that my children are alive?"
19Among those Davidson talked with, concerns over the environment were far more common among the younger group.
20But financial concerns, she said, troubled both Millennials and Generation Z.
21Davidson said, "There is a lot of fear around having children who would be worse off" than their parents.
22At 24, El Johnson has decided that she will not have children.
23But she has not ruled out adoption.
24The graduate student who works in legal services in Austin, Texas, has a list of reasons for not wanting to have a baby.
25They include the climate crisis and a genetic health condition.
26Johnson said, "I don't think it's responsible to bring children into this world."
27She added, "There are already kids who need homes. I don't know what kind of world it's going to be in 20, 30, 40 years."
28I'm Jill Robbins.
1Many young Americans are not seeking to have children of their own as birth rates in the United States remain near historically low levels. 2A group of women who spoke with the Associated Press listed climate change, student debt and inflation as reasons they do not want to be parents. 3Some young men said they also do not want to raise children. Some are considering medical operations that prevent fertility. 4A government report found the U.S. birth rate fell four percent in 2020. That was the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years. The government reported a one percent increase in U.S. births last year. But the number of babies born was still lower than before the coronavirus pandemic - about 86,000 fewer than in 2019. 5Jordan Davidson talked with more than 300 people for a book to be released in December. The book is called So When Are You Having Kids? She spoke to young people of both the Millennial generation and Generation Z. Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996 while Generation Z is just starting to reach adulthood. 6The pandemic, Davidson said, led many young people to put off having children. Others say they do not want to have children at all. 7She said many young people are not willing to change their plans or goals for children. She added, "People still want to travel. They still want to go to graduate school. They want to meet certain financial benchmarks." 8Davidson said fears about climate change have influenced many to consider the idea of living without children. 9She said, "Now with increased wildfires, droughts, heat waves...what is this going to look like during the time that my children are alive?" 10Among those Davidson talked with, concerns over the environment were far more common among the younger group. But financial concerns, she said, troubled both Millennials and Generation Z. 11Davidson said, "There is a lot of fear around having children who would be worse off" than their parents. 12At 24, El Johnson has decided that she will not have children. But she has not ruled out adoption. 13The graduate student who works in legal services in Austin, Texas, has a list of reasons for not wanting to have a baby. They include the climate crisis and a genetic health condition. 14Johnson said, "I don't think it's responsible to bring children into this world." She added, "There are already kids who need homes. I don't know what kind of world it's going to be in 20, 30, 40 years." 15I'm Jill Robbins. 16Leanne Italie reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17_________________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19benchmark - n. something that can be used as a way to judge the quality or level of other, similar things 20drought - n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain 21adopt - v. to take a child of other parents legally as your own child 22What do you think of having children? 23We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 24Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.